May 31, 2005

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED ON-THE-GO WITH GENEON ENTERTAINMENT’S HARDCORE ACTION TITLES DEBUTING ON THE UMD FORMAT

Hellsing And Gungrave Bring The Intense Ballet Of Battle
To The PlayStation Portable On August 16th

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Maintaining supremacy of the North American anime marketplace, Geneon Entertainment announced today the unveiling of two of their biggest titles on new UMD format. Hellsing and Gungrave – both of which feature hardcore action and gritty, supernatural plotlines – will be blazing the trail for anime on the popular PSP device, unleashing must-have action-packed mini-discs on August 16th. The first and second episodes of each series will be available for the suggested retail price $14.98 .

Among the first distributors to recognize the potential of the portable format, Geneon Entertainment will debut the revolutionary sci-fi animated action adventure Appleseed and the hip-hop samurai action series Samurai Champloo on July 5th.

“Japanese animation and video games have always gone hand-in-hand; the anime fan base is largely the same group of consumers that’s purchasing the PlayStation Portable already, so it’s only natural for us to gravitate to that format,” said Jim Yardley, Vice President of Sales, Geneon Entertainment. “The episodic action makes great on-the-go viewing.”

A wildly popular title among action lovers, Hellsing tells the story of a secret war brewing in the night… where the worst enemy of the darkness is one of its own. The rogue vampire Arucard is the ultimate weapon against the undead… and humanity’s last hope of survival in an unholy war. The UMD release of Hellsing will pave the way for the release of a long-anticipated sequel, Hellsing Ultimate OVA Series, currently in production.

Featuring hardcore action and bloody mayhem, Gungrave follows mob enforcer Brandon Heat on his dark journey back from the dead, driven by his thirst for revenge against the organization that betrayed and murdered him. Based on the Playstation 2 Gungrave game, Yasuhiro Nightow’s (Trigun) edgy series showcases production by Masao Morosawa (Jubei-Chan, Ninja Scroll TV) and Shigeru Kitayama (Ninja Scroll Movie, Noir) as well as music by Tsuneo Imahori (Trigun) and animation by the powerhouse studio Madhouse (Animatrix, Tokyo Godfathers, Trigun, Texhnolyze, X).

About Geneon Entertainment

A leading supplier of Japanese animation in North America, GENEON ENTERTAINMENT (USA) INC. (www.geneonanimation.com) is a full-service producer and distributor of entertainment content including film, music, animation and television shows on DVD and CD. Continually introducing new and classic anime and live-action programming, as well as anime CD soundtracks, the company also serves as a creative partner to many of Japan’s top anime production companies. Additionally, Geneon Entertainment distributes critically acclaimed musical performances on DVD and CD from renowned artists. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Geneon Entertainment’s parent company is Tokyo-based advertising giant Dentsu, Inc.

Dentsu Inc., founded in 1901, is the largest advertising agency brand and the fifth largest marketing and communications organization in the world. Based in Tokyo, Dentsu offers national, multinational and global clients the most comprehensive range of advertising and marketing services through its unique “Total Communications Services” approach. Dentsu has pioneered and set global standards for integrated communications, which in latter years have been adopted by a number of major international networks. Consolidated revenues for fiscal term 03/04 were recorded at $16.1 billion. Dentsu is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.